Boiler-tube cleaner



1 636 355 July 19, 1927. H. COLE 1 BOILER TUBE CLEANER Filed March 26. 1926 2 Shegts-Shaet 1 A0067 0% 7 71 010131X le,

50mm was cnmmn July 19,1927. 1,636,355

Fi led MarchES. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

Patented, July 19, 1927.

- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

rm: H. COLE, OICHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOILEETUBI CLEANER.

Application fled larch as, 1926. Serial Io. 87,550.

trolled by devices ocated exteriorly ofthe boiler.

It is an object of the invention to produce a simple and comparatively cheap boiler 10 tube cleaner having the cleaning efliciency of the well known single blower manually directed device, but arranged to simultaneously clean a plurality of tubes.

Another object of the invention is to'pro- 16 duce a boiler tube cleaner which may be permanently attached to the inside of a boiler shell, and is capable of simultaneously operating upon a plurality of tubes, yet which is of such construction and arrange- 20 ment as to oocup the minimum boiler draft space thereby ering the minimum of resistance to draft through the boiler tubes.

It is a further object of the invention to so construct a boiler tube cleaner that thetube cleaning process may be carried on during working hours without shutting down the boiler or cooling it by the opening of doors during the cleaning process.

Other objects of the invention will be fully 30 understood from a description of the draw- 1n 5. 45 lteferring to the drawings- The drawings herewith illustrate one of the many ways in which the invention might be applied, and wherein the boiler shell has a smoke chamber 11 formed by the crown sheet 12 and boiler end closure or head 13, a plurality of tubes 14, and in some instances a man hole 15 having the cover 16, and clampin dogs 17. v

Suztab y secured to the interior of the boiler shell is a channel like. track 18 arranged to receive and uide a roller 19 from the axle 20 of which t e ears 21 and 22 depend, and which form a part of an angularl ollowed casting 23, the lower end of whic has a pipe 24 suitably secured thereto.

The pi e 24 is provided with a lurality of exten ed jets or nipples 25 which are arranged vertically thereof and coincident with the boiler tubes 14, the lower end of said pipe 24 has a short length of pipe 26 connected thereto in such manner as to form a swivel joint as indicated at 27 in Figure 3 of the drawings.

The said short pipe 26 is closed at its lower end, and is also provided with extending nipples as seen at 28 and 29, the two pipes 24 and 26 being held in swivel connection by the bolt 30. I

The casting 23 has swivel'joint connection 31 with a pipe 32 the upper end of which has swivel joint connection 33 with the pipe 34 WhlCh in its turn is swivelledat'35 to the power supply pipe 36 in whichis stationary located the valve 37.

From the foregoing it will be readily understood that there is a flexible connection from the supply pipe 36 to the casting 23 which is arranged to traverse the crown sheet of the boiler as will be explained, and 'a swivel connection between the pi cs 24 and 26 for a pgrpose to be explained ater.

It will understood that the swivel joints referred to and indicated on the drawings may be of any usual or suitable construction, and if so desired a flexible metallic pipe may be employed in place of the swivelled pipes 32 and 34.

At each side of the boiler and suitably secured thereto is a sprocket wheel 38 around which and also a large sprocket 39 a chain 40 is arranged as seen in Figure 1 of the drawings, the said chain 40 being secured to the ears 41 upwardly extended from the casting 23 by a pin so that movement of the chain 40 will cause the said casting and the pipes attached thereto to traverse the boiler, this movement being an easy one to accomplish because of the fact that the weight of the said casting and its attached arts is sustained by the roller 19 which is so tted to the track 18 as to prevent swayin of the pipe 24 in the direction of the lengtli of the boiler.

As a stea-dying medium for the pipe 24 against lateral swaying during its traverse across the boiler the casting 23 has laterally extended ears 41 arranged to support the antifric'tion rollers-42 which are intended to engage the underside of the track 18.

The large sprocket 39' has a shaft 43 extending therefrom whichfinds a bearing in, and pierces the head 13, and at its outer end has a sprocket 44 fast thereon over which a chain 45 is arranged and which also passes over the idlers 46and 47 down to the sprocket 48 the shaft of which has the crank 49 fast thereon.

Preferably the sprockets are of 'such relative size that a quarter turn of the crank 49 will advance the casting 23 a distance equal to that between the axes of the tubes so that starting at the left, see Figure 1, the casting, and consequently the pipe 24, may be advanced step by step across the crown sheet, each quarter turn of the crank causing the nipples 25 to align with a new set of tubes or column thereof until each tube has been cleaned, whereupon the direction of crank movement may be reversed and the cleaning process repeated on the return movement it it is so desired.

Preferably the supply pipe 36 taps into the boiler or steam drum so that live dry steam may be used, but it will be understood that air under pressure may be used in place thereof.

In the present instance the crown sheet has a man hole therein the cover of which is held in place by dogs which project to such extent that they are in the path of the lower nipple or jet'29 of the short pipe 26, see Figure 3 of the drawings, the ends of the said nipples 25, 28 and 29 being in close proximity to the ends of the tubes.

The tubes 14 in the side columns are fewer in number than those of the other columns, and are so arranged with relation to the boiler shell that a pipe of sufficient length to accommodate the columns having the most tubes therein could not be positioned for the side columns hence the addition of the swivel joint 27 between the pipes 24 and 26.

As shown at the left in Figure 1' of the drawin s the pipe 26 is swung out of alignment with the pipe 24, caused by the contact -of the lower pipe 26 with the shell of the boiler 10 when the pipe 24 was made to align with the tubes in the column at that side.

WVhen the pipe 24 is again moved away from the side column a spring 50 is arranged to coact with the pipe 26 and cause it to align itself with the pipe 24 so that the lower tubes in certain of the tube columns' may be operated upon, the said spring also serving to allow the said pipe 26 to be swung to one side when the said pipe is passing the clamping dogs for the man hole, and thereafter again aligning the pipe when it has passed them.

It is not known that a boiler tube cleaner has ever been used wherein a boiler traversing member having an extension swiveled thereto normally out of alignment therewith but arranged to automatically align therewith at certain times, has been permanently attached 'inside a boiler and which was operable to traverse the tube sheet of a boiler by means arranged exteriorly of the boiler, and therefore it is not the intention to limit the invention to the precise construction and arrangement shown herein as changes might be made therein without departing from its spirit and scope.

Having described the invention I claim.

1. The combination of a boiler having tubes therein and a boiler tube cleaner comprising a traversin member arranged in said boiler and provided with a plurality of delivery outlets to register with the tubes of said boiler; means to supply steam to said traversing member; means to support said member with provision for movement, and means to impart movement to said member, said traversing member having a steam delivering end section normally in alignment with the body portion thereof but II 3V- able laterally relatively thereto at times.

2. The combination of a boiler having tubes therein and a boiler tube cleaner comprising a traversin member arran ed in said boiler and provided with a plurality of delivery outlets to register with the tubes of said boiler; means to supply steam to said traversing member; supporting and guiding means for said traversing member, and means to impart movement to said traversing member, said traversing member having a steam delivering end section pivotally connected with the main body portion thereof, and means to normally and yieldingly retain said end section and said main body portion in alignment.

3. The combination of a boiler having tubes therein and a boiler tube cleaner comprising a traversing member arranged in said boiler and provided with a plurality of delivery outlets to register with the tubes of the boiler; means to supply steam to said traversing member; supporting and guiding means for said traversing member; means to impart movement to said traversing member, said member having a steam deliverin extension pivotally connected with one en thereof and adapted to be swung out of alignment therewith, and a spring connecting said member and its extension whereby the latter is yieldingly held in a position of alignment with respect to said member with provision for lateral swinging movement of the extension when brought into engagement with the wall of the boiler.

4. The combination of a boiler having tubes therein and a boiler tube cleaner commeans for said traversing member, and prising a laterally flexible articulated travmeans to impart movement to said traversersing member arranged in said boiler and ing member. 7 provided with a plurality of-delivery out- Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts 5 lets adapted to register with the tubes'of the this 24 day of March, 1926.

boiler; means to supply steam to said traversing member; supporting and guiding FRANK H. COLE. 

